Indian team leaves for Karachi

Bangalore, Aug 18 (UNI) India is fielding a three member strong contingent for the first ever Five Nation Six Ball Snooker Tournament for men scheduled to be held in Karachi from August 20.

Besides host Pakistan, which would be fielding two outfits, a team each from Bahrain, India, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates would be featuring in the tournament.

World Snooker and Billiards Champion Pankaj Advani, who left here for Karachi via Mumbai, told UNI that this was his firstever tournament in the new format. " I am looking forward and confident of the team putting up brave fight." Asian Snooker Champion Yesin Merchant and Country's No three ranked Manan Chandra are the other two of the Indian team participating in the tournament.

The six participating teams will be divided equally in two groups. After the league matches the group champions will qualify directly for the final.

The winner will become richer by Pakistan Rs one million.

The Board meeting of the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS), earlier this year, had approved the launch of the 6-ball snooker in a big way.